


How Would You Feel

by I_Need_An_Alex_Fierro



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 10:05:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14330124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Need_An_Alex_Fierro/pseuds/I_Need_An_Alex_Fierro
Summary: Magnus and Alex have an unspoken agreement not to bring up the past, as they're both more than aware how painful it is for both of them. They try their best to focus on their future at the Hotel Valhalla, and where it might lead them. The Hotel, on the other hand, seems to have other ideas.





	1. A Clay Tattoo

**Author's Note:**

> This is soooooo late I'm sorryyyyyyyy
> 
> It's also shaping up to be A LOT longer than I had originally intended, I keep thinking of new subplots and stuff to put in and it's probably gonna end up being like 10K words but I don't care I love Fierrochase too much :P
> 
> Please comment with your feedback and any ideas you wanna see :D
> 
> Tumblr: INeedAnAlexFierro (some PJO/HOO/MCGA fanart over there if you're interested)

It wasn't possible.

It shouldn't be possible.

But there it was. Leaning up against his nightstand. The deep, crimson stained wood flickering softly with the reflection of the lit fireplace at the opposite end of his room. The strings taught and shimmering silver, waiting, pleading with him to play them, as they had been played to him all those years ago.

Magnus took a shaky breath and gingerly picked up the guitar. It seemed soft to the touch, the wood felt brand new, and yet perfectly aged, it was light, but sturdy, and as he sat down on the edge of his bed and tucked it under his arm, it fit perfectly against his hip like a jigsaw piece.

_"You'll learn to play this one day"_

The voice, the haunting memory hit him like a tidal wave, and he had to fight not to let go of the tears welling up in his eyes.

How did they have this?

This wasn't fair.

For all the wonderful amenities the Hotel Valhalla provided, this was a step too far.

And why now?

All these thoughts were overwhelming Magnus, as he felt the world start to spin. He suspected he may well have passed out then and there had it not been for a knock on his door.

 _"Hey Magnus, you coming to dinner?"_ the Irish tone of Mallory called.

Momentarily forgetting about his new found, but long lost treasure, he opened his mouth to reply, but only a scratchy croak came out. He cleared his throat and tried again.

 _"Yeah, I'll be out in a sec"_.

He knew his voice didn't sound right, he only prayed Mallory put it down to him recently waking up from that day's battle.

 _"We'll meet you down there, grab Alex on your way?"_ Mallory's footsteps receded.

 _"Great"_ Magnus muttered to himself, dropping his eyes back down to the silver strings he hadn't realised he had been absentmindedly caressing. He wasn't in the right state of mind to deal with, whatever this was, right now. He stood up and laid the guitar down on his bed, with the tenderness one would lay a sleeping child to rest, grabbed his jacket, and headed for the door.

**_*Knock Knock*_ **

" _Alex, you coming to dinner?"_

Magnus flinched at the sound of a pot shattering against a solid surface, but waited patiently for a response. Instead, 10 seconds later, the door opened to reveal a scowling Alex, flecks of clay and paint streaked across his cheeks, with a look in his eye that told Magnus he would quite happily take on an army single-handedly right now.

 _"What"_ Alex growled, rage seemingly evaporating off him like water.

Magnus swallowed, cleared his throat again, and tried for a steady tone.

 _"We're heading down to dinner, you hungry?"_ he smiled tentatively.

Alex visibly relaxed about 6 notches, letting the tension from his shoulders release as he ran a hand through his hair, streaking lines of wet clay through the vibrant green.

 _"Sure, I hope no one expects me to be presentable though, I'm not cleaning up"_.

Alex ducked behind the door and emerged with a pale pink Hoodie, which he pulled over his green Hotel Valhalla t shirt.

 _"Wouldn't dream of it"_ Magnus smirked, turning to walk down the corridor, before something very solid collided with his upper arm.

 _"Ow!"_ he rubbed his bicep, where there was now a clay imprint of Alex's knuckles on his jacket.

 _"You better not, beantown"_ Alex smirked back. _"What's up with you anyway?"_

Magnus instantly dropped his eyes to the floor. _"What do you mean?"_ he mumbled, _"I'm fine"._

Alex's slender fingers curled around Magnus' wrist as he turned to walk, and when Magnus glanced up to meet his eyes, Alex was smiling softly, a gentle sadness in his eyes.

_"Don't wanna talk about it? Fine, but don't try and tell me there's nothing wrong Magnus, your face is an open book, you look like you've seen a ghost."_

Magnus dropped his eyes back to the ground and began walking in the direction of the food hall.

 _"Something like that",_ he thought to himself.


	2. Knights of the Round Table

By the time Magnus made it back to his room that evening, he was exhausted. TJ had suggested they all go for a round of _Table Tennis to the Death_ after dinner, which had eventually turned into matches of doubles, with TJ refereeing, while Mallory and Halfborn Played against Magnus and Alex. Magnus hadn't really done much besides stand there and make a fool of himself the few times the ball had strayed his way and Alex has allowed him to try and contribute to the game, he was too distracted thinking about the guitar having shown up, and what he was supposed to do with it. As it turned out, he didn't need to do much. Just like most things, Alex had some sort of professional mastery of Table Tennis, and safely dismantled Mallory and Halfborn on her own, multiple times over. Mallory, of course, was not very happy about this, and as we all headed up to bed, Magnus could've sworn he heard her complaining that ' _the game wasn't fair, Magnus barely touched the ball'_ , with Halfborn hurriedly agreeing with her, probably so as not to find a dagger in his side.

Magnus stepped into his room and closed the door behind him, eyes automatically wondering over to his bed, where the instrument still lay, exactly where he'd left it. He didn't know why he expected it to be any different, maybe he thought he'd imagined finding it when he woke up earlier that afternoon, maybe it was all a trick Loki had been playing on him, but no, there it lay, completely still. And yet the more Magnus stared at it, the more he became convinced it was humming to him gently, a graceful melody he hadn't heard in years....

He shook himself and strode over to his bed, picked up the guitar, and set it back against his night stand, where he had first found it earlier that day. After staring down at it for a moment, memorising, or was he recalling, every detail, he turned, undressed, and slipped beneath the sheets of his bed.

Magnus' dreams that night were about what you expected as an Einherjiar, he replayed the battle from that afternoon, dying the same way three times over, only to realise he hadn't woken up yet, punctuated with small snapshots of places, times and events Magnus couldn't make sense of,  while falling through an endless black void, the laughter of Loki echoing around him, throwing insults, telling him how useless he was, and how all of his friends and the people he cared about were going to end up dead, and it was all because of him. Until his feet hit solid ground. Magnus was so startled, he almost fell face first into a thorn bush that had materialised in front of him. He flung an arm out to the side, managing to find prize on the trunk of a tree to his left. As he caught his breath, he looked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He stood in a small clearing of a spruce, densely populated forest. He couldn't make much out through the trees around him, sunlight was struggling to permeate the thick foliage over his head, casting long shadows into the gloom around him. The first thing he noticed, was the absence of sound. There was none of the haunting, dry laughter that had been echoing through the void, Loki could not reach this place. The soft chirping of birds met his ears, but they seemed a long way off, like a distant memory of what a forest _should_ sound like. The air filling his lungs was thick and sickly sweet, heavy with the scent of ripening fruits and blooming flowers, sending a wave of dizziness over him. Magnus tightened his grip on the tree trunk, trying to find his balance, before some part of his brain registered that the surface beneath his palm was certainly not dry. He whipped his hand back, staring more intently at the tree, only to discover that the bark was cracked, oozing sap all the way up as far as he could see. Magnus wiped his hand on his jeans and began testing his legs, hoping he'd at least be able to move.

Just as a small glimmer of hope began to ignite in his chest, he heard it.

Crystal Clear.

Cutting through the forest like a cold gust of wind, sending shivers down his spine, causing all of his hairs to stand on end.

The soft humming of guitar strings.

Deep and sorrowful, but light, gracefully wrapping around the melody, as if the Norns had woven the tune into the fabric of the universe.

Some small part of Magnus' brain registered that his legs were carrying him towards the sound, but he was too spellbound to register anything but the soft feeling of warmth and comfort those notes brought out in him, from somewhere deep down inside, a memory he hadn't let come to the surface in many years. The closer he got, the fuzzier his vision became, or maybe that was the air getting thicker? Magnus became a passenger in the vessel of his body as it journeyed towards this untold destination, an inseparable mix of new and old.

By the time he stepped out into the new clearing, he was squinting to make out even the slightest detail, but his legs stopped, as he listened. Before him, in the centre of the glade, was a cluster of rocks, rising 10 feet out of the ground, seemingly holding up the silhouette of a person, the origin of the enchantment that had the entire forest holding its breath at the sound.

Something in the melody was calling out to him. Magnus couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt a tugging sensation in his gut, getting stronger with every note played, and every step he took. As he stepped forward, nearing the base of the rock formation, he stretched him arm forward, reaching towards the figure, until he felt a twig snap beneath his foot.

The figure froze, along with the spellbinding tune.

Magnus wanted to scream _"No!_ ", to beg the figure to keep playing, something inside his soul needed that melody to continue, but his vocal chords had frozen the moment the music had ceased.

The head of the silhouette shifted, as if the figure was turning to look at him, but at the last moment, it's entire frame fractured, disintegrating into a thousand crows, all squawking and flying off in different directions. Simultaneously, the enchantment separating Magnus' mind from his body broke, and he lunged forward, scrambling up the rocks to where the silhouette had sat, only to find the spot littered with shards of splintered wood. Magnus dropped to his knees, sobs erupting out from deep within his gut, which he had no control over. He reached forward and grasped the largest splinter of wood left of his memory, a light mahogany shard, one side natural wood grain, the other, stained dark crimson.

_"No..."_ he heard himself whisper, but he was already a world away, _"Don't leave me, not again...."_.

A shiver down the back of his neck gave him the urge to look up at the sky, only to discover that the crows who had formed the silhouette that sat moments before where he now knelt, hadn't flown off, but instead, regrouped into a sleek, lighting fast blur, seemingly absorbing all the light it touched, barrelling straight towards him.

He opened his mouth to scream, but just as the jagged sliver of night was set to pierce his heart, he was jolted awake by someone calling his name.

_"Maggie? Are you alright?"_

The voice was etched with concern, and Magnus found himself twisted up within his bed sheets, one hand clutching his chest, where he should have been skewered by the dark matter that made up the universe, the other outstretched, as if it was still holding that sliver of crimson stained wood. Some part of his brain registered that the voice calling to him belonged to Alex, but as he rose to respond, the words caught in his throat, and he doubled over in a fit of coughing.

_"Magnus?"_ Alex's voice sounded suddenly very serious, _"Right that's it I'm coming in"_

Panic flooded Magnus' system, sharpening his thoughts and reactions into double time.

_"No!"_ he managed to splutter, his eyes falling on the only source he knew of dark crimson stained wood, the guitar, still perched innocently against his night stand. He couldn't explain that, least of all to Alex, and least of all right now, he needed time to think that one through.

_"I'm fine"_ he called, _"sorry, I overslept"._

_"That much is obvious"_ Alex's voice taunted in response. There was a certain playful undertone to it, and Magnus decided Alex was _definitely_ female today.

_"Not to worry, the queen will have all her knights at the round table for breakfast"_ Magnus teased, desperate to change the subject, and knowing his reference to her gender having not even looked her in the face yet today would annoy her. He could practically _feel_ her scowling at him through the door.

_"If **her** knight's aren't careful" _ Alex growled, barely loud enough for Magnus to hear her, _"the **Queen** might just get her **King** to order their execution. Slowly. And. Painfully."_

She emphasized every syllable of the last three words, and Magnus was left in no doubt that his life was hanging by a strand.

_"As She wishes"_ Magnus responded, trying to keep the shake from his voice. _"Give me 30 seconds"_.

 

When Magnus stepped out of his room, his left arm came onto contact with a solid, heavy force.

_"Ow!"_ he yelped, jumping away from the source, _"What was that for?!"_

Alex smirked, pushing herself off the wall. Today she wore a flowing green dress, which Magnus didn't think he'd seen before, but he thought looked _amazing_ on her, along with Neon pink Doc Martins, and a matching pink belt fitted loosely around her waist.

_"1. now you're matching, 2. that was 45 seconds",_ Magnus scoffed, but Alex pressed on, " _and 3. for calling me **Queen** before you'd even seen my damn face, do you know how **mad** I would've been if you called me Queen and I was male today?!"_

_"But you're not"_ Magnus smirked in response, _"and you're dressed like a queen"._

Magnus caught himself as he uttered the last words, realising he'd said aloud more than he had intended. He stared down at his feet, feeling his cheeks burning red, and failed to notice Alex's do the same.

Alex was of course the first to recover, throwing him a sarcastic _"Thanks"_ and overemphasising a curtsey.

_"Now come on, I'm starving"_ Alex grabbed Magnus' hand and dragged him down towards the elevators, ignoring his spluttering at the contact.

As they stood in the elevator, both trying to ignore the tinny speakers and their awful rendition of Frank Sinatra's ' _Fly Me to the Moon',_ Alex piped up again.

_"Are you sure you're okay?",_ turning a questioning gaze on Magnus. _"You look like you've seen a ghost again, and I could've sworn you were whimpering in your sleep before I woke you, were you having a nightmare?"_

Under any other circumstances, Magnus was pretty sure Alex couldn't have been payed any amount of money to deadpan him in the face and tell him she'd heard him _whimpering_ in his sleep. Especially without making fun of him for it at least every other sentence, but the burning look of concern in Alex's eyes stirred something in Magnus' chest that distracted him from those thoughts. Alex was _genuinely_ worried about him, she cared and she wanted to know what he was going through, and if he was alright. A fiery warmth burnt in Magnus' chest as he stared back into those eyes, golden amber and brown, as a cool feeling of calm settled over him.

_"I'm okay Alex, I promise",_ he managed a small smile, " _Yeah, I was having a nightmare"_ he glanced sheepishly down at his feet, but now that he'd started, he knew he couldn't stop. _"It's-",_ he paused, looking for the right words, _"It's complicated."_ He brought his eyes back up to meet Alex's, glad to see that some of the worry was gone, replaced by a little curiosity. _"I don't have time to explain it here, and honestly, I don't think I know how, yet."_ He took a deep breath. _"As soon as I do, I promise I'll come talk to you about it"_.

At this, Alex's shoulders relaxed and she stepped back beside him, just as the elevator bell rung, and the doors slid open.

_"I'm counting on it, beantown"_ Alex gave him a small smile as she stepped past him and into the dining hall, immediately setting off towards their friends, obviously back in ' _I'm starving'_ mode.

By the time Magnus caught up, she had already sat down and was settling into what could only be described as a _mountain_ of coco pops.

_"Morning Magnus!"_ TJ clapped him on the shoulder as he sat down, _"Sleep well? Looking forward to today's battle?_ "

 

By the time breakfast was nearly finished, TJ and Mallory had formed an entire battle strategy for that day's training, apparently wanting to settle the score with a select few Einherjiar from floor 92.

_"And then Magnus follows up from the back in case anyone gets hurt and needs healing, that all good with you Magnus?"_

Magnus looked up from the crumbs on his plate left over from his 4th slice of toast.

_"Hm? Yeah, all fine with me"._

Mallory raised an eyebrow, but didn't question him any further, as Alex excused herself, off in search of another glass of orange juice.

_"By the way, guys"_ Magnus didn't realise he'd actually said it until everyone was looking at him.

_"Yeah...?"_ Halfborn prompted him.

_"Does, er, does Valhalla have, say, a music department, or something?"_ he felt his face flush as he finished the sentence, but looked around the table for an answer. After a heartbeat of silence, Halfborn burst into laughter, until Mallory kicked him in the shins and turned back to Magnus.

_"Yeah, it does, floor 25 if I'm not mistaken, why? What are you after?"_

_"Nothing in particularly"_ he responded quickly, staring down at his plate again, _"I just wondered"._

_"Yeah, and soon we'll be hearing 'The Serenade of Alex Fierro' every night"_ Halfborn roared into more laughter, but before Mallory could reprimand him, he let out a yelp of pain, as his hand flew to his neck, drawing everyone's attention. Out of the corner of his eye, Magnus caught a glimpse of green zip out from where Halfborn now clutched at his neck, but the movement had put the Berserker off balance, and as he twisted to see what had bit him, a fully formed Alex materialised on his other side, and made perfect use of Halfborn's unstable position, using the tip of her foot to push him off his seat and send him crashing to the floor, before turning and picking up a glass of orange juice from the table Magnus was _sure_ hadn't been there moments before.

Halfborn lay on the floor, spluttering, as Alex returned to her seat, looking from Magnus, to TJ, then finally at Mallory in shock.

_"Don't look to me for help, you big oaf_ " she snorted, _"You deserved that"._

Halfborn huffed and groaned on the ground of a minute longer, while Alex sat, examining her glass of orange juice with overemphasised interest, before he dragged himself back up onto his seat.

After 5 minutes of the rest of the table continuing in normal conversation, Halfborn butt in _"My shoulder feels odd, Alex, what've you done to me?"_

The rest of the table went quiet as Alex stood up to leave.

_"The Fly I turned into to bite you has a paralysing agent in its venom,"_ she replied, matter-of-factly, " _Over the next 6 hours, that side of your body will slowly become paralysed. Have fun in training today, I'll see you guys on the battlefield."_

Alex caught Magnus' eye and winked, before turning and walking towards the elevators.

_"WHY YOU LITTLE-"_

_"HALFBORN GUNDERSON!"_ Mallory's voice somehow managed to overpower the Berserker's, and he turned his rage filled eyes back to her. _"Don't even bother._ " She said flatly, _"You'll only make things worse for yourself. Maybe this'll teach you not to tease them when Alex is in the vicinity."_

Halfborn's shoulders raised and fell a foot each way as he seethed with anger, but made no attempt to go after Alex. Magnus marvelled at the effect Mallory's words had on the Berserker. Very few could stop them on the warpath, and even fewer were willing to try, but Halfborn seemed more fearful of angering the Irish redhead who sat beside him than he was desiring to relieve Alex of some of her limbs. Magnus watched Alex's mop of green hair disappear behind the elevator doors, smiling to himself. Having her around certainly kept things interesting.


End file.
